24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Events In Brighton, Hove And Sussex Over the Christmas Period 2005
By Caroline Lewis
02/12/2005
Image: Shows an etching featuring a dog, a plant and a man in a kennel.
The Return (from Peter Pan Series), 1992, etching and aquatint, edition of 50 by Paula Rego. ©The artist, courtesy Marlborough Fine Art (London) Ltd.
While festive lights twinkle in the street and shoppers in thick overcoats dash about, the museums and galleries of Brighton and Hove offer some happy distractions from the spending frenzy and respite from the chilly air.
Want some ideas for what to wear to all the Christmas parties? Fashion and Fancy Dress: The Messel Family Dress Collection 1865 - 2005 is on show at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery until March 2006 (though the whole venue closes from December 24 - January 7). The display documents the gorgeous and slightly eccentric style of six generations of society ladies.
Image: Shows a photo of a long pale evening gown.
Evening dress, by Neville, c.1911-1913, worn by Maud Messel. Courtesy Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.
There’s also an exhibition of the prints of Paula Rego, which will be around through to January 22 2006. It’s a comprehensive retrospective, including some of her earliest etchings from the mid-1950s and her recent lithographs inspired by Jane Eyre.
Over the way, the Royal Pavilion is going all seasonal. Until February 2006, the entrance fee for locals is knocked down to £2.35 and accompanying children get in for free. (Just take along proof of address.)
Image: Shows a photo of a huge ornate banqueting hall with a long table set with candelabras.
See the full effect of the Pavilion's grand lighting after dark. Courtesy Royal Pavilion.
On December 16, you can take in mulled wine and mince pies at the Pavilion from 5.30pm, followed by a festive tour. The evening will end in the Music Room, where visitors will be entertained with old Sussex carols sung by the Wandering Minstrels. To book a place, call 01273 292798.
The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum is also hosting Sussex-style festivities. From Boxing Day until January 2 2006, visitors can enjoy the spirit of Christmas through the ages in historic buildings decorated for Christmas as they would have been in the period when they were built. Expect Tudor mulled wine and other traditional fayre, plus period music and carol singing.
Image: Shows a photo of an open fire in the centre of a room decorated with holly.
The Tudor hall is decked with boughs of holly at the Weald and Downland Museum. Courtesy Weald and Downland Museum.
Another stop you can make if you’re out and about in Sussex is the Amberley Working Museum, which is hosting a Santa’s grotto with an unusual theme – it’s ‘underwater’. Children and adults can ride on a vintage train to the grotto on December 17, 18 and 21 for £6, which includes a present. Make sure to book, though, on 01798 831370.
Hove's Booth Museum is celebrating the world of water, too, in Strandline: Secrets of the Seashore. The exhibition takes a look at all the fascinating objects, both natural and manmade, that turn up on our beaches every day. It runs until March 19 2006, so if you’re too busy over the winter holidays, there’s still some time to catch it in the new year.
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, BN1 1EE, East Sussex, England
Open: Tuesday: 10.00am-7.00pm
Wednesday-Saturday: 10.00am-5.00pm
Sunday: 2.00-5.00pm
Bank Holidays 10.00am-5.00pm
Closed: Closed Mondays, except public holidays 10.00am-5.00pm
Closed 23 - 26 December, 31 December & 1 January
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
4-5 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton, BN1 1EE, East Sussex, England
Open: Open October to March 10am-5.15pm (last admission 4.30pm), and April to September 9.30am-5.45pm (last admission 5pm)
Closed: Closed 24 December (from 14:30) and 25 & 26 December
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Chichester
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Singleton, Chichester, PO18 0EU, West Sussex, England
Open: Open throughout the year, winter opening times vary, call or see website for details. Opening times 10.30am - 6pm during British Summer Time, 10.30am - 4pm rest of the year.
Closed: 3 January to 16 February closed Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri. Closed 24 & 25 December 2008
Amberley Working Museum
Amberley Working Museum, Houghton Bridge, Amberley, Arundel, BN18 9LT, West Sussex, England
Open: Season runs from 12 March to 2 November, Wednesdays to Sundays. 10am - 6pm with last entry at 5pm.
Also open daily on the following dates:
Easter: Wed 9 April - Sun 27 April
Half term: Wed 21 May - Sun 1 June
Summer: Wed 16 July - Sun 7 Sept
Half term: Wed 22 Oct - Sun 2 Nov
In addition, the Museum will also be open every Bank Holiday.
Booth Museum of Natural History
194 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 5AA, East Sussex, England
Open: Mon-Wed Fri Sat 1000-1700
Sun 1400-1700
Thurs-Closed
Related Articles
Made08 - The Brighton Craft Fair 2008
Summer 2008 Holiday Ideas At UK Heritage Sites And Museums
Victorian Time Travel Quiz Launched By 18 West Sussex Museums
News In Brief - Week Endinig August 3 2008
News In Brief - Week Ending July 13 2008
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Chinese Whispers - Chinoiserie Comes Home To Brighton
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Black Watch Museum Appeal Seeks To Raise £3million
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Newly-Accredited Medical College Invests In Mysterious Portrait
Photos Of WWII Codecrackers Go On Sale At Bletchley Park
Painting Returns To Queen Victoria's Dressing Room After 166-Year Absence
Cartoon Awards Ceremony Celebrates UK's Top Scribblers At Mall Galleries
Made08 - The Brighton Craft Fair 2008
Library Thief To Be Sentenced At Wood Green Crown Court Today
New Look For The Relaunched Garden Museum In Lambeth
Write Queer London Competition Holds Inspiration Day At The British Museum
Downs House Darwin Discovery Project Wins Funding Go-Ahead
British Museum Gets Set For Historic Egyptian Tomb Gallery
Stunning Wedgwood Relaunch Celebrates Potteries Heritage
Library Bid To Save Earliest Surviving Score Of Opera In English Language
Ryedale Folk Museum Lands Significant Harrison Collection
Portable Antiquities Scheme Is Fit For Purpose Say MLA
Leading Academics Call For Art Funding Support In Wake Of Titian Pledge
Glasgow Police Museum Edges Closer To A New Home
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.